Track door structure



Oct. 16 1951 -c. BLUM 2,571,664

' TRACKVDOOR STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 31, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET l I I 4/ 45 i42 IN V EN TOR. C'fi/ISE B1. um

I W Wigs.

Oct. 16, 1951 -1C.BLUM 2,571,664

TRACK DOOR STRUCTURE Filed octfsl, 1945 2 srmms-fsms'r 2 INVENTOR.Gil/15E BLUM I 5y v WW 49 Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE TRACK noon STRUCTURE Chase Blum, Cincinnati, Ohio ApplicationOctober 31, 1945, SerialNo. 625,751

(Cl. Wis-14 I 1 Claim. lv

The present invention relates to improvements in a track door structure,such as may be applied above the main door of a refrigerator or othercompartment wherein the temperature is to be maintained at apredetermined constant.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a track doorstructure with means operative incident to opening and closing the maindoor of. the compartment, whereby the track door is opened and closedwithout injurious strain upon the workin parts thereof, irrespective ofthe extent of swinging movement of the main door of the compartment.

Another object of the invention is to provide for full adjustability oftrack door actuation, so that the track door assembly may be associatedwith main doors that swing open to the maximum extent of 180, or anyintermediate angle.

Another object is to provide adjustment means in association with atrack door assembly, whereby the main door may be opened to anintermediate position short of a full open position, without disturbingthe normally closed position of the track doors, thereby to preventunnecessary leakage and transfer of chilled air to the exterior of therefrigerated compartment when the main door is opened merely forpurposes of ingress and egress on the part of an attendant.

Another object is to provide means for the purposes stated, which may beinexpensively manufactured, and installed upon a refrigerator, cooler,or similar compartment, with a minimum of labor and expense, and withoutthe aid of skilled mechanics.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means describedherein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l isa fragmental perspective view of the front of a refrigerator orcompartment, with the device of the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig, 1, the trackdoors being open.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a modification.

Track door structures in general, have been customarily applied tocoolers and like compartments for the storage of meats and othercommodities which required transport into and from the compartment bymeans of a carriage suspended from an overhead track or rail. Thetrackor rail entered the compartment above the main door, through an openingprovided in the front wall of the compartment. To prevent temperaturelosses about the rail or track, it was customary to provide a track doorarrangement that fitted about the track or rail in sealing relationshipso long as the main door of the compartment remained closed. Uponopening the main door, suitable mechanism was operated to remove thetrack door from sealing relationship about the track, so that a carriagemight be moved along the track, into or from the interior of thecompartment. The general arrangement above referred to has been ingeneral use in abattoirs and meat storage establishments.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve upon track doorstructures and the means employed for actuating them incident to openingand closing movements of the main compartment door. In particular, theinvention contemplates improved controls for the track door assembly, sothat unnecessary temperature losses will be eliminated, and applicationof the invention made possible in a practical way, irrespective of theextent to which the compartment door may be swung open.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings 6 indicates the frontwall of an insulated compartment, and 1 indicates a main door closing anopening in the front wall. The door and the opening are in practice madesufiiciently large to permit an attendant to walk into the com partment,and as is customary, the door may be hung on the compartment Wall bymeans of a series of hinges 8. For purposes of illustrationandexplanation, the door shown herein is one which overlaps the compartmentwall, the thickness of the door flange or overlaping portion beingindicated by the character 9 In some instances the door may be flushwith the outer face of wall 6, but irrespective of this detail thepresent invention is applicable.

At a location above the doorway, the wall 6 is cut away as at It toprovide a track openingin communication with the main opening of thecompartment. A track or rail I2 (Fig. 4) extends through the opening l0at an elevation slightly above the level of the top of the door, so asto accommodate a carriage (not shown) from whichmay be hung heavyobjects such. as animal sides or the like to be transported along thetrack or rail by means of the carriage. Where the track or rail entersthe compartment through opening In of the wall 6, it is necessary toprovide a means of sealing the opening and the space about the track orrail, particularly when the main door of. the compartment-is closed.

A suitable closure is furnished by means of a track door support frameI3, which may be desirably of rectangular configuration, said framebeing applied to the outer face I4 of the compartment wall by means ofsuitable fasteners I5. The frame overlaps the margins of opening I0, soas to provide a sealed joint at the frame.

Frame I3, as illustrated upon Fig. 1, carries a series of hinge lugs I6and I1 at opposite sides of the frame, to support hinge pins I8 wherebyhinge lugs I9 of the track doors 20 and 2| are arranged for swingingmovement outwardly and away from the forward face of the compartmentwall (see Fig. 4). The hinge lugs for the track doors may be integraltherewith if desired, and will preferably extend outwardly beyond theouter flanges 22 of the track doors. These flanges, which extend aroundthree sides of the doors, serve to efiect a seal with the outer face offrame I3. The opening 23 in the rearward extension 24 of the frame isthereby effectively closed against temperature losses at locations aboutthe three outer edges of the track doors. Each track door may befurnished at its inner face, with a metallic casing 25 containing aquantity of insulatin material. When the track doors are closed, theinsulating means 25 are disposed interiorly of the frame opening 23.

In order that the doors may be swung in unison to the opened and closedpositions, a suitable equalizing means may be furnished which, as hereinillustrated by way of example, may consist of a pair of links 26 and 21pivoted at 28 and 29 upon the members 25, the links at their inner endsbeing pivotally joined by means of a stud 30. Stud 30 extends through anelongated slot 3| formed in a rearwardly extending plate 32 supportedhorizontally at the rear of the track door frame. The links being ofequal length, will perform to move the track doors in unison about theirrespective hinge pins as one or the other of the track doors ismanipulated to opened or closed position. Plate 32 and the equalizinglinks are located above the track or rail I2, so that they will notinterfere with movement of a carriage along the latter when the maindoor 1 and the track doors 20 and 2| are in the opened position.

In order that the track doors when closed will effect a substantial sealabout the track or rail I2, the doors at their free vertical edges areprovided with resilient sealing pads 33 and 34, margins of which extendoutwardly from the doors a sufficient distance so as to meet along aline 35 (Fig. 1) when the doors are closed. Where the track or rail I2is interposed, however, the sealing pads will closely hug opposite facesof the track or rail for effecting a substantial seal at thoselocations. The sealing pads may be of rubber, fabric, or otherappropriate resilient and flexible material. The pads may be held inplace upon the outer face of each track door by means of pad clampplates or the like 36 and 31. A flange 38 of track door 2| may beutilized for sealing the meeting edges of the doors above the sealingpads, it being understood that said flange 38 of track door 2| overliesa marginal portion of the other track door 20.

Referring to Fig. l, the characters 39 and 40 indicate depending bumperflanges upon the doors 20 and 2|, said flanges being in substantiallythe plane of the compartment wall 6 at its outer face I4, so that themain door 1 when closed, will abut the members 39 and 40 to hold thetrack doors in the closed sealing position. The bumper flanges orprojections 39 and 40 4 preferably are integral rigid extensions formedalong the lower edges of the track doors. The vertical sides of thetrack door frame carry similar bumper projections 4| and 42, which arenormally in the plane of wall surface I4, and of the bumper flanges 33and 40. The foregoing construction ensures a tightly closed condition ofthe track doors whenever the compartment main door 1 is fully closed.

The actuating means for the track doors comprises an elongated actuatorbar 43, one end of which may be pivoted as at 44 to a perforatedextending ear 45 formed integrally with or otherwise applied to one ofthe track doors such as 2 I. A substantially similar perforated ear 46may be furnished upon the other track door 20, for use in the event thatthe main door is a lefthand door, rather than a right-hand door asshown. Actuator bar 43 may be in the form of a flat strap of metal lyingin a horizontal plane, and adapted for movement in correspondency with atrack door 2| by virtue of the pivotal connection 44. The bar isfurnished with a longitudinal slot 41 which extends from a location nearthe outer end 48 of the bar, to a point 49 intermediate the ends of thebar. A pair of adjustable stops, indicated at 50 and 5|, are applied tothe actuator bar within the limits established by the opposite ends ofslot 41, these stops being utilized for controlling the operatingmovements of the track doors.

The adjustable stops 50 and 5| may be varied in character, and may clamponto the actuator bar in any approved manner. By way of example, theadjustable stops may be characterized as illustrated by Fig. 3, whereinis shown a stop in the form of a screw 54, the shank of which extendsthrough slot .41 of the actuator bar to receive a fastening nut 52 and awasher 53. The head of the screw constituting the adjustable stop, maybe slotted as shown in Fig. 3, or otherwise adapted for application of atool whereby the stop may be fixed at any desired location along thelength of slot 41. Stops 50 and 5| preferably will be identical to oneanother, for convenience in applying and adjusting them to the actuatorbar.

Between the stops 50 and 5|, the slot of the actuator bar receives apivot member 55 which is securely fixed relative to the main door 1 ofthe cooler compartment. This pivot member may be furnished in anydesired form, and may conveniently consist of a headed screw having athreaded end 56 and a smooth shank 51, the shank being shouldered asshown in Fig. 2 so as to abut the upper face 58 of a bracket or barsupport element 59 when the screw is fully tightened by driving it intothe threaded bore 60 of the bracket. The head of the bolt may carry awasher 6| of proper thickness such that it will not tightly clamp theactuator bar 43 when the screw is tightened upon the bracket. In otherwords, the actuator bar shall be freely slidable upon the face 58 of thebracket at all times. If desired, the thread end 56 of the screw may beextended sufiiciently through the bracket to accommodate a lock nutpreventing accidental loosening of part 55 with repeated opening andclosing movements of the main door.

Bracket 59 may be applied to the main door 1 in any suitable manner,such as by means of screws or other fasteners 62 anchored in thematerial of the door. The bracket will be applied to the door at adistance from the axis of hinge 8, so that when the door is swung aboutits hinge mountings, the pivot member 55 will be caused to travellengthwise of the actuator bar slot 41.

In perfecting the installation of the track door structure of theinvention, the frame i3 is applied to the opening about the track orrail l2. whereupon the bracket 59 may be applied to the main door aspreviously stated. Stop 59 will be securely fixed upon the actuator barat a location 'such that the pivot member 55 will contact the stop andmove the track doors to the fully closed position as main door 1'assumes a closed position. Should the closing stop 59 be fixed to thebar at an insufiicient distance from the slot end 49, this fact will notprevent proper closing of the track doors, because they willnevertheless assume a fully closed position when their depending bumperflanges 39 and 40 are struck by the main door in closing.

The second adjustable stop 51 will be fixed upon the actuator bar at alocation which will depend largely upon the extent of swing of main doorI, which in some cases may be 90 or less, while in other instances itmay approach or reach 180 from the fully closed position of the maindoor. If the main door, for example, can be swung open through an arc of180, the opening stop 5| will preferably be located upon the actuatorbar at a point such as will ensure full opening of the track doors bythe time the main door reaches the maximum open position. With the stop5! so located upon the actuator bar, opening movements of the main doorI along an arc of 90 or less, for example, will not result in displacingthe track doors from the fully closed position.

On the other hand, if the main door I is limited in its swingingmovement toward the open position, so that it may not describe an 180arc, the stop 5| will be fixed upon the actuator bar at a locationcloser to the closing stop 50. so that the available swinging movementof the main door may be utilized in moving the track doors to the fullyopen position.

By properly locating the stops along the slot portion of the actuatorbar, proper opening and closing movements of the track doors may beensured irrespective of the available swing of the main door. Theoperation of the device is extremely smooth and reliable, and the designof the actuating mechanism is such that no strain or binding may occurso as to injure the operating parts of the track door assembly and itsactuating mechanism. The structure moreover is quite simple andinexpensive, and may be applied to existing coolers or othercompartments with the use of simple tools in the hands of a relativelyunskilled mechanic.

The advantages above mentioned are present also in the modified form oftrack door actuator illustrated by Fig. 5, wherein 65 indicates abracket corresponding to that illustrated at 59, and which is to befixedly mounted upon the main door near the axis of the main door hinge.This bracket may include a laterally extending arm 66 which isperforated at 61 to receive a vertical pin 68 that depends from atubular slide member 69. The slide member pivots at its pin 68, andthrough it slidably extends the actuator rod 10, which in this case maybe of round stock. Adjustable stops for performing the same function asstops 50 and 5| of Fig. 1, may be in the form of collars H and 12applied to the rod at opposite sides of the slide member 69, the collarsbeing furnished with means for adjustably fixing them to the rod. Asherein disclosed, the securing means for the collars are in the form ofset screws 13 threaded into the material of the collars, and havingtheir butt ends engageable with the actuator rod. In this form of thedevice, it is unnecessary to slot the actuator element, as thelongitudinally bored slide member 69 forms a perfect guide for the rod.At the pivotal end of the actuator rod there is fixed a suitable lugmember M perforated as at 15 to receive a pivot pin whereby the actuatorrod is pivotally mounted upon one of the track doors, in substantiallythe manner illustrated by Fig. 4. The free end of pivot pin 68 may befurnished with a nut or other locking device, if desirable or necessary,to preclude disassociation of the slide member 69 from its supportingbracket 65.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in thestructural details of the device may be made, within the scope of theappended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In a refrigerator construction including a wall having a walk-in maindoor opening, a smaller auxiliary track door opening above thefirst-mentioned opening, a door having an edge hinged along one verticaledge of the main door opening, and a pair of track doors hinged atopposite vertical sides of the track door opening, linkage means withinthe refrigerator connecting the track doors for corresponding openingand closing movements, a perforate lug extending outwardly from one ofthe track doors, an actuator bar having one end pivoted to the perforatelug of said one track door, said bar including a second endlongitudinally slotted, a bracket fixed to the main door including ahorizontal extension having an upper bearing face upon which the slottedend of the actuator bar may slide while being supported by said bearingface, an upright pivot member anchored to the main door bracket andpassing through the slot of the actuator bar with clearance sufficientto ride lengthwise within the slot when the main door is swung about itshinge, a stop adjustably fixed within the slot of the actuator bar atone side of the pivot member, to engage the pivot member only when themain door is opened wider than required for human ingress and egressthrough the main door opening, and a second stop adjustably fixed withinsaid slot at the opposite side of the pivot member, to be contacted bythe pivot member whenever the main door and the track doors are fullyclosed.

CHASE BLUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1 272,392 Wheeler Feb. 13, 1883744,552 How et a1 Nov. 17, 1903 988,265 Hart Mar. 28, 1911 1,012,576Ahrens Dec. 26, 1911 1,072.600 Gillespie Sept. 9, 1913 1,732,164 JonesOct. 15, 1929 1,941,969 Calabrese Jan. 2, 1934 2,012,925 Fritz Aug. 27,1935 2,206,051 Roof July 2, 1940 2,378,114 Van Donk June 12, 1945FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 203,186 Great Britain Sept. 6. 1923

